


Strep

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:42:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22129657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex tries to hide that he has strep from Jack on a day they are supposed to hang out together.
Kudos: 3





	Strep

**Author's Note:**

> This is a request!

“I hate to say this, Mr. Gaskarth, but you tested positive for strep. You need to rest in bed until your fever is gone. I hope that your band doesn’t have any shows within the next few days,” the doctor at the Immediate Care Center explained to Alex.  
“Well, we don’t, but I’m supposed to spend the day with my best friend tomorrow,” Alex rasped out.  
“Well, I’d advise you to reschedule that. Someone as sick as you are shouldn’t be out doing things,” the doctor replied.  
“That’s a fair point. Thank you for your help, sir,” Alex said.  
“Absolutely, now you get some rest and feel better. I’ve sent in a prescription for an antibiotic to your pharmacy,” the doctor explained as Alex stood up. After giving a small smile as a thank you, Alex walked out of the office, and to his car. He turned on the heat as high as it went before stopping at the grocery to pick up his prescription from the pharmacy, as well as a few other things he’d need.   
Once he finally got home, he walked in as fast as he could, and put all of his new purchases away. He changed into his warmest PJs and wrapped himself in a thick blanket. Before going to the kitchen to take his first dose of antibiotic, he pulled out his phone and saw a text from Jack.  
‘Jack: Hey man, I’m excited for tomorrow! We haven’t had a day to hang out as just the two of us in a while, so I’m really looking forward to tomorrow. Be ready for me to pick you up for brunch at eleven tomorrow!’  
Alex considered telling Jack that he was sick with strep and couldn’t go out anymore but decided not to.  
‘Alex: I’m excited, too! Don’t worry, I’ll be ready.’  
The band had just finished up a rather long tour, and everyone was happy to be home. They all wanted to see friends and family, and they also wanted to spend time with each other as friends instead of bandmates. Jack and Alex had planned two weeks prior that they would spend the upcoming day together, just having fun like they did back in high school.   
Earlier in the day, Alex noticed that he felt a bit worn out, and that his throat had started to hurt quite a bit. Once he got done with all of his responsibilities for the day, Alex went to the Immediate Care Center, hoping to be told that he was just a bit spent from doing a lot with little downtime.   
He knew that the smarter thing to do would be to stay home and rest rather than go out, but he didn’t have the heart to cancel on Jack; they’d both been looking forward to this day for so long, too long for some sickness to ruin it.   
After Alex went to the kitchen and took his medicine, he went back to his room, and got into his bed. He turned on the TV, and channel surfed until he found something that looked interesting enough to have on.   
Even though he was bundled up in his blanket and in warm clothes, he was still shivering from his chills, so he forced himself up to get extra blankets. Once he found a few warm ones, he got himself set up in bed again, and started to watch the movie he’d put on.   
The aches in his body made it hard for him to find a comfortable position, and if he did find one, an ache would make it uncomfortable in just seconds. After a lot of shifting around, Alex felt so exhausted that he ended up falling asleep easily.  
\---------------  
The next morning, Alex woke up to a headache that was caused by his phone ringing. Alex groaned as he turned to his nightstand and picked up his phone to answer it.  
“Hello?” Alex asked, his voice sounding worse than it had the day before.  
“Woah man, what’s up with your voice? You sound sick,” Jack said, sounding concerned.  
“What? No, I’m fine, I’m just hoarse, because I just woke up,” Alex said, hoping his friend would believe his lie.  
“As long as you’re sure,” Jack said, trailing off some.  
“Of course I am. Anyway, what’s the plan for today?” Alex asked, hoping Jack would drop the concern for now.  
“Right, well I planned on getting to your house to pick you up in about thirty minutes, but if you need more time to get ready since you just woke up, that’s cool, too,” Jack replied.  
“Just come in thirty minutes, I’ll be ready,” Alex said back.  
“Okay, I’ll do that. See you soon, man,” Jack said, hanging up the phone. Now that he was off the phone, Alex noticed that he felt quite a bit worse than he did the day before. His throat hurt more, his aches were stronger, and he generally felt weaker and more worn down.   
Despite all of this, he refused to cancel on his friend, so he tried to get up. As he stood, he started to shiver, making him realize that his chills were worse, too. He did his best to ignore all of this as he went to his bathroom to take a shower.   
While he waited for the water to warm up, he looked at himself in the mirror, and discovered that he looked almost as bad as he felt. He had bags under his eyes, and his face was pale, with the exception of his flushed cheeks.   
After a quick shower, Alex quickly did everything else he needed to do to get ready and finished right when he heard a knock at his front door. Once he had everything he needed, Alex walked down the hall and opened the door to Jack, who had a look of excitement on his face.  
“Hey Alex!” Jack exclaimed with a big smile.  
“What’s up, Jack?” Alex asked, his voice still shot.  
“Dude, you still don’t sound good, is something wrong with your throat? It sounds all scratchy,” Jack pointed out.  
“This, um, usually happens after tour, being on the road and singing every night isn’t easy, man,” Alex said, trying to lighten the mood some.  
“Actually, you look kind of tired, too. Are you sure that everything is okay?” Jack asked.  
“Yeah, let’s just go to breakfast, I’m hungry!” Alex exclaimed, walking out of his house with Jack. The restaurant they’d decided on was right by Alex’s house, so the ride was short, and they didn’t talk much as a result.   
Once they arrived, Alex noticed that he was a bit queasy from being in the car but tried to ignore it as he followed Jack inside. They were immediately seated in a booth near the back of the restaurant and were left to look at their menus.   
Not much later, a waitress came over to take their orders. As usual, Jack got a sweet coffee drink, and a big stack of pancakes. Since being sick left Alex with basically no appetite, he just ordered a hot tea, and a small cup of oatmeal.  
“That’s all you’re getting? You usually get the French toast, and we split that and my pancakes so we can each have both,” Jack pointed out.  
“I know, I just thought I’d try something new for today. Anyway, let’s talk about what we’re doing for the rest of the day,” Alex said, desperate to change the subject. The two of them talked about possible ideas of things to do, all being things that Alex didn’t want to do while feeling so awful. Eventually, their food and drinks came out, and Jack looked excited as he stared at his pancakes.   
“These look awesome! Let’s dig in!” Jack exclaimed, taking a big bite of his breakfast. Alex took a small bite of his oatmeal and cringed as he swallowed it. His throat was so messed up, that it felt like he was swallowing glass.   
Alex continued to try and eat his oatmeal, despite the extreme discomfort it was causing him. Eventually, the pain became too much, and Alex felt a small tear escape from his eye, which Jack was quick to notice.  
“Dude, are you crying?” Jack asked, feeling confused and a little worried.  
“It’s just so good, it’s bringing tears to my eyes,” Alex said, taking a big bite to try and prove his fake point. This backfired some, the large amount of food making Alex cringe in pain again.  
“If it’s so good, let me try some,” Jack said, trying to put his fork into Alex’s bowl.  
“No! You can’t!” Alex exclaimed, swatting Jack’s fork away. Normally, he didn’t mind sharing, but Alex didn’t want Jack to catch his strep from sharing food.  
“Damn dude, it must be really good if you won’t share. But your voice still doesn’t sound good, let me take a look at your throat to make sure it’s not red or anything,” Jack said, sitting next to Alex on his side of the booth.  
“No, don’t be weird, Jack, I’m just fine,” Alex replied.  
“Come on, if nothing’s wrong, why won’t you let me see?” Jack countered.  
“Because we’re in public, and that’d be weird. Besides, I’m just trying to enjoy my oatmeal,” Alex said, taking another bite of his breakfast. Alex cringed again, and Jack took a good look at his best friend. He noticed how worn out Alex looked, and saw the paleness of his face, and the large, dark bags under his eyes, and realized that he’d been right all along.  
“Alex, you’re sick,” Jack stated.  
“Why would you think that? I’m fine,” Alex replied with a fake smile. Jack put his hand to Alex’s forehead, and was surprised by how warm it was.  
“Alex, you’re burning up! Stop trying to pretend you’re fine, it’s pretty obvious you’re not. Why didn’t you just tell me you weren’t feeling good?” Jack asked. Alex took a deep breath before replying.  
“Well, you were so excited for today, and I was, too. The doctor I saw told me to reschedule this, but-“ Alex started.  
“Wait, what doctor? What did they tell you?” Jack continued.  
“I felt a bit off all day yesterday, so I went to the Immediate Care Center, and I tested positive for strep. The doctor who saw me told to reschedule our plans and rest, but we were both so excited, and I didn’t want to ruin everything by being sick,” Alex said, sounding a bit bummed out.  
“Well, I appreciate you trying, but you need to take care of yourself, Alex. If you’re sick, you should be at home resting so you can get better. I wouldn’t have minded having to reschedule, I know you know that,” Jack said back.  
“I know, and I should’ve just done that. I’m sorry about all of this, Jack,” Alex replied.  
“Don’t apologize, it’s okay. Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t we pay, then go back to your house and we can just watch movies and do nothing, and more importantly, you can rest,” Jack suggested.  
“You want to spend your whole day doing nothing with me while I’m sick?” Alex asked back.  
“Sure, why not? I just want you to take care of yourself, and it seems that you can’t do that, so I’m going to help you,” Jack said, making them both smile.  
“Thank you, I do feel really awful, if I’m being perfectly honest,” Alex admitted.  
“I bet, strep is a bitch. Let’s get you home so you can relax. It looks like we’ll still be able to spend the day together!” Jack exclaimed.  
“That’s true. You’re the best, Jack,” Alex said.  
“I try to be!” Jack said, making them both laugh. Once they paid, Jack drove Alex back home and got him comfortable in the living room.   
Jack spent the day with Alex, the two of them watched a bunch of movies, and Jack did everything he could to take care of Alex, which Alex appreciated very much. It wasn’t the day they’d had in mind, but the thing that mattered was that they were still able to spend it together.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a request for someone on my Tumblr! Sorry for posting it so early, I work all day today then have to pack for going back to my dorm tonight, and I didn't want to make the requester wait forever because of all of that!! I'm not ready to go back, but I am glad to get back into a routine, and have designated times that I can write, so I can keep posting often for you guys! That being said, send in requests if you have them, I'm working on a couple now, but would love to add more to my list! Thank you guys for reading, it really does mean a lot. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
